The Italian poet and critic Eugenio Montale (1896-1981) was one of the major representatives of Italian hermetic poetry.

Eugenio Montale was born on Oct. 12, 1896, at Genoa, and his youth was spent between that city and a property his family had in southern Liguria. He studied literature at the University of Genoa and took voice lessons with the baritone Sivori, but he turned exclusively to literary pursuits after World War I, in which he had served as an infantry officer. In 1927 he moved to Florence to work for a publishing house. There he was director of the Gabinetto Vieusseux from 1929 to 1938, when he was removed from the post because of his indifference to the Fascist regime. Throughout this time Montale contributed regularly to literary journals, such as Solaria, and, being also a perceptive critic, he was the first to point out, in 1925, Italo Svevo's importance as a writer. In...